A word from the president

Defence, caring and support

in 100% human mode!

Having been a foster parent for 20 years, I chose to get involved with the FFARIQ to help recognize the important role foster parents play in children's lives.

My privileged position as a foster family enables me to understand reality from the inside. I'm not a spectator, but a player in the children's well-being.

I also have the pleasure of being Regional President for the Côte-Nord. This role gives me a global view of the inequalities experienced by foster families from one region to another, depending on the youth centers operating there.

Our role at the FFARIQ is to represent foster families, to defend them against the inquisitive gaze of government authorities. We make sure that our leaders and institutions who care about children come to place foster families at the heart of their interventions, treating them as allies. We too, like them, are there for the children of the DYP.

The immense role played by foster families in the lives of their children, the love they give them, the many hours they spend reassuring them and guiding them through their daily lives: all this is little known and too little considered, even by government bodies.

Fortunately, there's the FFARIQ. An organization founded 50 years ago, recognized not only for its benevolence towards foster families, but also for its credibility, its knowledge of the reality of foster families and its representativeness. Nearly 3,000 foster families and over 5,000 children can count on the FFARIQ to help them make progress on the legal and financial fronts that translate into greater well-being for them.

We're in action mode rather than reaction mode. For foster families, that makes all the difference. It's by being close to the real needs of families, on a day-to-day basis, that we draw on our arguments and strengths to fight for changes to laws and simpler rules. Our teams in the regional offices are always available, ready to listen and in solution mode to support foster families.

FFARIQ is about the empathy, determination and perseverance that lead to change.

FFARIQ is there for you and your children.

Mélanie Gagnon

Provincial President